


Cross Country

by t_shirt



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Angst, light lemon fluff, silliness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22705306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_shirt/pseuds/t_shirt
Summary: A mission to protect the Queen of the Universe leads the five ex Gundam pilots on the cross country adventure of a lifetime.Another older fic I dug up. I hope you enjoy. ^-^
Relationships: 1x2 - Relationship, 3x4, R+all
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Cross Country

Post War Cannon  
1x2, 3x4, R+all  
Fluff, mild angst, silliness, gross abuse of amusement park rides *grin*

Summary: A mission to protect the Queen of the Universe leads the five Gundam pilots on the cross country adventure of a lifetime. 

Life post war didn’t turn out too bad. I stayed with Hilde for a while until she was solidly on her feet and Une threatened to have me arrested if I didn't accept the Preventer’s commission she'd offered all the pilots. Wufei was the first to fall, and then when Hiiro turned up after his short, post war disappearance he was sporting a badge within the first week. Quatre and Trowa worked as part time agents on cases that required their special skills and though I never wanted to have a reason to carry a firearm again I found the position highly rewarding. I felt like I was making a difference again, not to mention the fact that there wasn't much call for a seventeen-year-old Gundam pilot in the private sector, and I got to bunk with Hiiro. 

I'd missed him. There just wasn't anyone else who understood me the way he did, so it was nice getting to partner with him again, especially since he'd loosened up a lot. I knew there was a sense of humor buried under that face of steel somewhere and the lack of a desire to become a casualty of war had brought it out nicely. I suppose I'd calmed a bit, too. The crazy joker mask wasn't necessary to stay alive in this new world, so I'd backed off to something more along the lines of foolish imp. Hey, a guy’s gotta have _some_ fun. 

We were the crack team, called in solo, by twos or five at a time depending on the details of the job. If it entailed extreme danger, we were the ones that went in first. If it was delicate or of critical importance, we were first on the duty roster, so it hit us all hard when we strolled into Une's office one fine June afternoon, each armed to the teeth and ready to risk our lives and told we were being assigned a babysitting job. 

"Exsqueeze me?" 

"Duo."

"You leave first thing in the morning," Une cut off Quatre's reprimand. 

"I don't understand," Hiiro began, but our illustrious leader didn't seem any happier about the situation than we did. 

"You have your orders," she snipped. 

"I have better things to do than waste time..." 

"Master Chang," she sighed impatiently. "There have been threats on the Minister’s life. That is sufficient reason to escort her."

"Why in the hell does she need all five of us?!" I grumbled. "One should be enough, it's not like..."

"You will address the assignment as a team," she growled through clenched teeth. 

"But..."

"You have your orders," she cut Quatre off in a tone that clearly stated we were done with the conversation. "The details have been sent to your personal inet accounts. Good day, gentlemen."

"Son of a bitch," I mumbled while we filed down the hallway. 

"Duo..."

"He has a point," Trowa spoke up, laying a soft hand on his lover’s shoulder. 

"Yes," Quatre sulked. "But grumbling about it isn't going to help."

"There's something odd going on," Wufei commented grumpily. "There should be no reason to send us all on this mission."

"We need to find out who is threatening Relena's life before we can judge that fairly," Hiiro commented. 

"Oh, come on, Hiiro," I whined. "Someone is _constantly_ threatening her life. She's only the most important person in creation right now."

"This must be different or Une wouldn't be taking such extreme measures," he countered. 

"If it's so bad you'd think we'd be transporting her in a more secure fashion," Wufei pointed out. 

"Yeah," Quatre added. "Why in the world do you suppose we're required to drive?"

"We'll find out when we read the file," Hiiro reasoned. "Quatre and Trowa will handle supplies," he said calling the debate to an end. "Wufei, you're navigation and Duo..."

"Yes?" I grinned. 

"Find us some transportation," he told me, setting the gears in motion. "We'll meet at the embassy at O700."

"Where are you going?" I asked. 

"I'm going to do a little recon and see if I can shed some light on this mission."

I did a little research myself, beginning with a visit to my inet account to read our mission specs. It was the craziest thing I'd ever seen. Relena, her companion/assistant Bella and the five of us were supposed to drive from New York where we were currently based to LA. The trip should have taken no more than three days, but we were required to deliver the Minister to the embassy in California no sooner than seven days hence. That left four days to just piddle around. It went against every rule in the `protect the princess` handbook, but the specifications were very clear. Several death threats had been received recently from a single source, but even that wasn't all that uncommon. It just didn't make any sense, but hard as I tried I couldn't find a clue as to what was really going on. I didn't realize so much time had passed until the alarm went off while I was comparing threatening letters telling me I'd just worked through the night and had less than an hour to get dressed, packed and find us a mode of transportation before I had to report. 

It was a stupid oversight. Hiiro said he would check into it and I should have let him handle it. I knew since he hadn't come home he was making good his promise, but the mystery of why we were being sent on this hair-brained mission had hypnotized me. I showered, tossed a handful of clothes and my gear in a bag and hit the ground running. Pure luck got me a cab two blocks down the road and the driver just happened to know a Limo service nearby, but when we got there it was still closed. I guess suits don't like to get up before dawn. I was at a loss; there was no way we could take a cab and I couldn't wait till eight when the service opened. I was just thinking `train` when I saw the answer in the form of an endless line of huge, brightly colored RV's all standing in a row and told the driver to stop. 

Bobby Tuck's, RV's and Pop Up's.

It seemed like the perfect solution. The camper slept six, though I had no doubt Hiiro wouldn't go for Relena having five guys essentially in her bedroom, so I rented a couple of tents too. Considering the nature of the mission, one of us would have to stay close to her at all times, but the table folded down to make a bed and was at the opposite end of the vehicle, which would allow Bella to bed down between the agent and the Minister, but still keep someone close enough to protect her. The rest of us would camp outside with one tent on either side of the camper to secure a perimeter. It was perfect. 

"Duo...what have you done?!" Quatre hissed when I hopped down to the sidewalk. 

Okay, maybe not. I think it would’ve helped if Trowa would’ve stopped laughing. 

"Maxwell, you are one of a kind," Wufei smirked. 

"What?" Okay, so maybe it was a last minute decision, but I stood by it as being an intelligent one. At least until I saw the look on Hiiro's face. 

"Relena," he began solemnly. "I'm sorry. I should have..."

"Not at all," she smiled. "It's perfect."

I think I broke a tooth when my jaw hit the ground. Of all the people going on this trip, Relena Darlian was the last person I expected to be my ally. 

"Are you...sure?" Quatre asked, looking skeptical while he followed her aboard. 

"Of course," she smiled, ignoring Bella's wary expression. "Who would expect to find me in here?"

"Exactly," I grinned mostly at Hiiro because he still looked like he wanted to throttle me. 

"Duo," he growled low, grabbing my arm to hold me back while the others climbed aboard. "What in the hell were you thinking?"

"Relax, Papa Bear," I smiled. "I rented tents, too." He looked a little relieved, so I flashed him a bright smile. "Come on, man. You didn't think I was going to sleep in the same room with a couple of girls. What would the teamsters think?" 

I ducked and scampered aboard before he really could strangle me and took first shift behind the wheel to keep it that way. The thing moved weird, lots of metal, but none of it wanted to do what you told it to. Pushing a peddle in Deathscythe was like pointing my own finger, smooth, sure and instantaneous. Pushing a peddle in this thing was akin to smacking a lazy mule. It'd go, but in its own good time. It seemed to need three lanes to make a turn as well.

"Duo!"

"Oops."

"You have to swing out..."

"Not into on coming traffic!!"

"Turn harder!"

"Shouldn't we have made a left back there?"

"Don't encourage him."

"Wufei, what's the straightest path to the interstate?"

"Turn right."

"There's construction!"

"I can make it."

"NO!" they all barked at once and I laughed until I thought I would cry. 

I think they might have lynched me, but Relena was giggling her head off too, so they were out voted by default. We did find the highway, but we put an hour, a totaled phone booth and two dented mailboxes behind us in the process. Straight road is seriously underrated in one of those things.

"Would anyone like something to eat?" Bella asked sounding remarkably relieved while we sailed on down the road. 

"Oh, that would be lovely," Relena chirped. "It was too early for breakfast before we left." 

"I don't believe the kitchen is functional while driving," Wufei commented dryly. 

"I have some sandwiches in my bag," Bella explained, gathering said bag to her feet. 

I was starting to like Bella. She was young for her station, under thirty anyway, small and lean with dark brown, shoulder length hair and big brown eyes. I saw some Italian in her though she carried no accent. She seemed well organized and friendly, not pretentious at all and fully capable of providing companionship as well as killer sandwiches to our little queen. 

"What is our itinerary?" Relena asked, nibbling daintily on a de-crusted tuna and cheese. 

"We have an extended amount of time to make this trip," Wufei began pulling out his laptop. "I thought perhaps, should circumstances allow, you might like to see some of the sights along the way."

"Wufei," I grinned. "You sly dog. That's the spirit!"

Hiiro's jaw dropped discouragingly, but whatever he was going to say was chopped off by Relena's exuberant, "Wonderful!"

"What's first on the list?" Quatre asked, opening his computer while he offered the remainder of his sandwich to Trowa who took it from his hand with his mouth. 

It is still a moderately rare thing to see Trowa truly smile. I get a kick out of it every time and that one made me grin right along when Quatre flushed bright red. 

"There is a series of museums and scenic opportunities along the way," Wufei explained, seeming pleased with himself. 

"What?" I chuckled. "No `world’s biggest ball of twine`?"

"Is there such a thing?" Bella asked deadpan. 

"Sure," I smiled. "I think its somewhere in Kansas. Do you want to go?"

"Oh, could we!?" Relena exclaimed and I laughed some more because Hiiro had just narrowly avoided swallowing his tongue. 

"I don't believe it," Quatre chuckled, taping on his laptop. "Cawker City, Kansas. There really is."

"Please, Hiiro," Relena smiled and I saw him physically cave. 

He never could tell her no. I should have been happy that she was up for turning our odd jaunt cross country into an enjoyable occasion, but I'd never quite been able to come to grips with her affect on him. I smiled anyway, like I always do and tried to remember that Hiiro was enough of a man to handle both a woman and a best friend. 

Things grew quiet for a while and I lost myself to the gentle rhythm of the road. Wufei was researching new possible stops with Quatre while Trowa appeared to have kicked back to take a nap, but the slight movement of his hand while he discretely caressed Quatre's hip ruined that illusion to anyone who cared to notice. Relena was talking quietly with Bella and Hiiro had retreated to the back of the camper, presumably to do more research on our mission. It was very quiet so I'm afraid I jerked a little when Relena suddenly popped up next to me. 

"May I join you?" she asked. 

"Knock yourself out, princess," I smiled. 

"You could call me by my name," she smirked, sliding gracefully into the passenger seat. 

"Naw," I chuckled. "Goes against my nature."

"Like shouting `Hey, good looking` at possible enemy targets?" she grinned, so I flashed her one right back. 

"You weren't a target anymore at that point," I reminded her. 

"No," she chuckled, turning to gaze out the window before she added. "But thanks you to I was still alive."

I have to say, she's one hell of a lady. I had absolutely no response to that.

"Is that a radio?" she asked after a time. 

"It was last century," I snickered, reaching to turn the ancient thing on.

"That's a funny tune," she chuckled. 

"It's a jingle for Rice-a-Roni," I laughed. "I think this thing thinks it's still nineteen fifty-five."

"What in the world?" she laughed and I joined her when the song that had come on started talking about spiders and snakes and what it takes to love me. 

"I have no idea."

"May I?"

"Please," I nodded and waited for her to find a station. 

I expected a news channel or possibly something classical and couldn't help grinning in slight wonderment when she stopped on a pop/rock channel. 

"You listen to this stuff?" 

"When I have time," she smiled, tapping her fingers to the beat. 

The song was an old favorite and before we quite knew what was happening, Trowa's deep voice started singing quietly along. Well, when in Rome and all, so I kicked in with my tenor and shortly Quatre was bee-bopping along nicely, which put Relena in the mood and I think Bella and Wufei kicked in just to round it out. It was fun; all of us singing in harmony and by the second verse my ears caught the sound of Hiiro somewhere in the distance. I had never heard him sing before and though he was obviously trying to keep it quiet, my mind picked him out and amplified him until the deep, throaty vibration of his song rang in my ears. It was an electrifying tone, one I'm sure any record company would pay top dollar for, but I doubt Hiiro would have been singing at all if he thought any of us were actually paying attention. It was too bad really, because he has one hell of a majestic voice. 

The next song was a little faster and I got to see the Queen of the Universe do the hitchhiker. It was the oddest feeling watching Her Grace bob and sway in quick time. I couldn't actually dance with her because of the wheel, but I matched her bob for bob while we sang the song as a duet and the others, mostly Quatre, Trowa and Bella, did back up. There was a moment, fleeting in its intensity, that I caught Hiiro's eye in the rearview and almost lost the beat. He was smiling, but it wasn't his usual smile. This was one of those secret, little grins full of affection and unspoken longing. It took my breath away and I suddenly wondered if this would be the trip he finally confessed, because Relena was being absolutely irresistible. 

We reached our first destination late that afternoon and, not surprisingly, had no problem parking. The Pennsylvania Lumbar Museum was all but deserted and I could understand why. It was more a fancy place to store old stuff than anything else. The train was cool though. 

"Duo, get down."

"The sign says its okay," I argued and struck a pose in the engine window that made Relena and Bella laugh. 

"You look like an idiot," Wufei grumbled, shaking his head, but there was a small smile hiding in the corner of his mouth. 

"That's Capitan Idiot if you please," I replied haughtily. 

"Engineers were not addressed as captain," Hiiro informed me climbing aboard, much to Wufei's dismay. 

"Hey, this is my ship," I retorted, donning the stripped hat that hug from a peg inside. "If you don't like it you can walk the plank."

"If only we were at sea," Quatre chuckled allowing Trowa to hand him up to join us. 

"Whoahoo! Slow this crate down!" I sang, grinning at our amused company. "You lovely ladies wouldn't be needing a ride?" I asked, grinning wider when they blushed and giggled and played my silly little game. "What'dya think, Hiiro?" I asked, leaning back into his chest. "Should we class the joint up and bring them aboard?"

"By all means," he chuckled, offering Relena his hand. 

We goofed off for a while, then had a late lunch on the picnic tables outside. I somehow became Commodore in there somewhere and Wufei kept referring to Hiiro as my first mate until he looked like he had a sunburn. We had to make Quatre walk the plank because Bella refused to pay the ransom, but since Trowa played the part of the shark he wasn't all that reluctant to go. It occurred to me as we pulled out and the attendant, Wallace, came rushing along because I had forgotten to give the hat back, that we probably looked like any other group of teenagers on a cross-country vacation and it felt good. It was really nice to just relax and play. I got the feeling it was something Relena hadn't gotten to do in a very long time. 

Relena chose to ride in the back with Hiiro when we got back under way and I'll admit that my stomach felt a little odd. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was still having trouble convincing myself that an active relationship with Her Highness wasn't going to cut into my buddy time, but every time I saw them together it scared me. I didn't have long to sulk about it though, as Wufei climbed in the passenger seat with a huff and a pair of scarlet cheeks. 

"Bad news from home?" I chuckled, wondering what his problem was. 

"You should have considered that they’d need a separate room," he grumbled. 

I just barely stifled a laugh when I glanced in the rearview and saw Trowa gently nibbling on Quatre's ear. He was sitting in his lap, a comfortable position half on and half off his leg looking for all the world as if they were simply talking to one another, but the distant expression in his eyes told a different story. I had a sudden pang of concern for Bella, but when I checked she had nodded off. 

"I rented tents," I told my disgruntled companion.

"Perhaps you should have rented security guards as well," he chuckled. 

"Any luck pinning down a suspect?" 

"Hiiro seems to have some leads," he sighed, then chuckled when he added, "I can't imagine what. I ran out of ideas last night."

"Me, too," I laughed along. "But there must be some reason Une felt it was necessary."

"Maybe Relena just wanted some company," he snorted, kicking back his seat. 

My eyes shifted to the rearview where I could just barely make out Hiiro's knee next to Relena's where they sat talking in the back. 

"I'm surprised she didn't just request Hiiro," he yawned and I was just as glad he had his eyes closed because I don't imagine the look on my face would have been easily explained. 

I drove until I started seeing signs for an RV park where we could stop for the night and informed the crew. Quatre and Trowa handled the tents while Wufei went to find a grocery store and Hiiro and I tried to figure out the multitude of hoses and couplings it was going to take to refill the water tanks and dump the sewage. You know, in a Gundam everything actually fits together, I don't think the designer of this thing had ever heard of the word `universal`. 

"Hand me the blue one."

"Blue doesn't work with orange," I told him, searching for a coupling that would fit in both ends of the extension hose I was working on. 

"It's not a fashion statement, Duo," he sighed. 

"No," I chuckled. "But there's got to be a color code or something. Look at this mess? It looks like a box of crayons spit up."

He laughed and stretched across my lap to get the stupid blue one anyway. When he came up I was grinning like a banshee and completely unrepentant for having made him reach, but he just snorted, shook his head and tried the coupling. It didn't fit of course, but he wasn't about to admit it. My amusement grew and bubbled inside me while I watched him turn it over and over again twisting and turning until I finally couldn't stand it anymore and burst out laughing. 

"Give me the damn thing."

"I've got it!" he chuckled, turning to hide it from me. 

"It doesn't fit," I laughed, trying to take it anyway and we ended up in a wrestling match that had us tied in a knot of noisy, plastic tubing when we suddenly heard Relena laugh. 

"Uh...hi, princess," I grinned, unable to separate myself from my partner quickly enough to keep his face from catching fire. 

"When you're finished playing," she smiled. "Dinner is ready."

"We are not...playing," he scowled, trying to untangle us, but the dopey grin hiding under it spoiled the effect. 

I had no idea what to think when she got this little mother’s smirk on her face and said, "Why not? Isn’t that what young men are meant to do?" before chuckling as she walked away. 

We both just sort of blinked at her while we watched her go, but then her approval of our strange behavior kicked us into high gear and we tumbled to the ground trying to tie each other up. It was the camper that ended up winning our little game as we soon reached the end of our length of hoses and rolled down the hill. Were it not for our training and reflexes it could have turned bad, but we managed to miss dinging our heads on any rocks or trees and landed in a giggling heap with him wrapped around my back and my face not five inches from a knobby root. 

"I think...it won," he panted, making me laugh. 

"Ready to surrender already?" I giggled. He went quiet for a moment in which I suddenly felt the heat of his chest against my back. It was like someone had forced a hand grenade down my throat, just...boom and suddenly I couldn't breathe. "I say we whip this puppy," I told him, quickly extracting myself. "Because whatever the girls are cooking is making me hungry as hell." 

He took the hand I offered, but the playfulness had died, so we got to work and finished the job so everyone could eat. 

"An excellent meal," Quatre complimented the ladies, getting up to clear the dishes. 

"It was macaroni and cheese with little hot dogs in it," Bella snickered. 

"There wasn't much of a selection," Wufei defended. 

"It was good," I grinned, polishing off my second plate before I asked, "What's for desert?"

"How could you possibly still be hungry?" Bella laughed. 

"Desert does not require hunger," I explained in my highbrow tone. 

"Well, I'm afraid you're out of luck tonight..." she began, but Relena cut her off by smiling at Quatre and asking...

"Unless you and your charming partner would mind walking back up to the store to pick something up?"

Trowa's face lit up like it was Christmas morning, but Quatre just sort of looked...guilty. 

"I don't know if..."

"It would be lovely if they had some ice cream," Relena smiled. 

"And brownies," I grinned. 

"You can't expect the Minister to go without her desert," Trowa reasoned, ushering his lover out the door. 

"Take your time!" Relena called after them and I got the definite impression she did it on purpose so they could have a moment to themselves. Her smile certainly seemed to confirm it. 

"You don't, by chance, play bridge?" Bella inquired, presenting a deck of cards. 

"If you'll excuse me," Wufei piped up, moving into the back to hide behind his laptop. 

"Oh, Bella," Relena sighed. "Isn't there something else we can do? Every garden party I attend is like a bridge tournament. There must be some other way to entertain one’s self with a deck of cards."

She was smiling at me. It was sort of creepy, but it made me happy, so I decided to show her several different ways one could entertain one’s self with a simple deck of cards. 

"This game is entirely unfair," Bella chuckled when my fifteenth card sailed the length of the cab/living room area, landing neatly in the pot with the others. 

"It's all in the wrist," I grinned. 

"It's all in your head," Hiiro chuckled, tossing off three in a row that landed in quick succession atop mine. 

"Show off."

"You picked the game," he grinned. 

"Is there something we might actually get a chance to play?" Relena giggled. 

"Umm, sure," I chirped, going to gather the cards. We sat at the table with Bella and Relena on one side and Hiiro and I on the other facing them while I dealt. "Okay," I began, picking up my hand. "In this game certain combinations of cards beat others."

"Duo," Hiiro sighed miserably. 

"Two of a kind is the lowest you can get other than a simple high card wins."

"Poker?" Bella chuckled. 

"Yeah!" I beamed. 

"What's wrong with Hearts or Spades?" Hiiro grumbled. 

"I think this sounds fascinating," Relena enthused, sitting forward. "What's the highest combination you can get?"

"A royal flush."

"Oh, that suites me just fine, don't you think?" she giggled, blushing prettily when Hiiro gaped at her. 

I took a few minutes to explain the different hands and what beats what, then explained about drawing and folding. 

"So," she surmised. "If I have two kings and you have a full house..."

"I win," I grinned. 

"What do you win?" she asked. 

"Well," I replied, "In most cases it's customary to relinquish an article of clothing."

I ducked because I knew it was coming and Hiiro almost put a hole in the wall with his fist. It was worth it though, because not only were the girls beside themselves with laugher, but Wufei had burst out giggling, too. Hiiro didn't think it was all that funny for some reason, go figure. 

We played for toothpicks until Bella sat back and stretched while she asked, "What do you suppose is keeping Quatre and Trowa?"

"Perhaps they got lost in a moonbeam," Relena smiled secretly to herself. 

It took Bella a minute to work it out, but when she did her face pinked and she gasped softly, "You don't mean...?"

"You didn't realize they were a couple?" I asked and though I tried to sound friendly I suppose it came out a little defensive. 

"Well, I...no," she replied. "I thought they were just partners."

"Indeed," Relena snickered. 

Hiiro and I were back to gaping at her again. I'd never seen her act so...so...young before. It was most becoming. 

"If you disapprove..." Relena began. 

"Oh, no," Bella cut her off. "I just didn't realize. I mean, wouldn't it be dangerous to have that sort of...distraction in their line of work?"

"Believe me," our Queen smiled. "I am safer with any member of this team distracted or otherwise than I would be in my own mother’s womb."

The vote of confidence swelled in my chest, but it felt a little weird that she was looking at me with that affectionate gaze instead of Hiiro. Made me feel guilty somehow, so I looked away. 

"Here," I said dropping my cards on the table. "Try this."

They watched until the house I built stood three tiers high, then Hiiro couldn't stand it anymore and had to join in. Pretty soon Bella was shoring up her quadrant and Relena was delicately constructing a garden area out back. All talking ceased for fear of toppling the precarious pile, but there was a collective groan when we ran out of cards. 

"Is there another deck?" Relena asked. 

"That's the only one I had," Bella sighed. 

"Well," I grinned, rubbing my hands together. "There's no saying our fun has to be over."

I don't think anyone so much as breathed while I strategically extracted two cards from the foundation of the house and stacked them on top. 

"Ohhhh ho hoooo," Bella sang sounding impressed. "You do like to live dangerously."

"It's not so hard," Hiiro shrugged, repeating the feat with utmost confidence. 

Bella looked like she might faint when she took her turn, but with a little discrete guidance, made good choices and completed successfully. I could see Hiiro wanted Relena to have as much luck and couldn't help grinning while he openly guided her through her first attempt. Then it was back to me, but the choices were getting thin. I managed, but I thought for sure Hiiro was sunk. He pulled it off by some miracle and I got Bella through by sheer force of will, but you could have heard a moth sneeze it was so quite in that camper.

"Easy," Hiiro soothed our resident princess. 

She chuckled softly, not daring to breath and retreated without a card. 

"You can do it," I encouraged. "Just pretend its President Gustov's MasterCard."

Her eyes lit up gleefully while Bella gasped and giggled, but she seemed ready for another try. 

"The third from the left," Hiiro gently reminded. "Steady...ease the bottom out first...easy...eeeeaaaasssy..."

"What in the world...?"

"AWWWWwwwwwww!" we all groaned, laughing when the whole tower came tumbling down. 

"Great timing, Quat," I chuckled, gathering the cards that had fallen in my lap. 

"Oh no," he moaned. "I'm so sorry. We had no idea."

"Of course you didn't," Relena smiled on a breath. "It is simply my misfortune to topple intricate infrastructures."

"And thank the heavens it is," Quatre smiled. 

I noticed the smile on Trowa's face was a might less tense while he unpacked a bag of ice cream sandwiches and put them in the freezer. 

"Toss me one."

"They need to get cold again," Trowa smirked. 

"That's because you took over an hour to bring them back," I grinned. 

"And the store is less than five minutes away," Wufei added, escalating the burn on Quatre's cheeks up a notch before he added, "I am going to retire."

"Wait a minute." Foolish boy. "We haven't decided who is sleeping in the camper tonight yet."

"You don't expect me...?"

"It is only fair to take turns," Quatre broke in. 

"But who gets first watch?" I knew I was being an ass, but its still fun to see Wufei sulk. 

"How about we draw straws?" 

Once again Relena had stopped us cold, but none of us could offer a better solution, so that's just what we did. She insisted on holding the straws herself, which made me feel like we were in competition for her instead of being her guard, so I was more than relieved when I pulled a long straw. Hiiro seemed disappointed when he did as well, but when Wufei pulled the short one it brightened his spirits. We all turned in after that, Quatre and Trowa in one tent on the backside of the camper and Hiiro and I in the other on the front. All said and done it was as secure as she would have been in any hotel. I knew Hiiro felt the same way, but it didn't take long to figure out he wasn't going to get any sleep. 

"She'll be fine," I sighed somewhere around two a.m.

"You should be asleep."

"If you'd get your bony ass out of my back maybe I could," I teased, rolling over to face him. 

"My ass is pointed the other way," he chuckled. 

"Oh," I smiled. "Must've been a dream."

"Now you dream about my ass?"

"Better than what Trowa's probably doing to Quatre's." My cheeks hurt I smiled so hard at all the colors he turned. "Go to sleep," I told him, batting him on the tip of his bangs. "Wufei's with her, nothing is going to happen."

He looked like he wanted to say something for a second, but then smiled and nodded as he closed his eyes. I don't know if he actually slept because I nodded off, but he was up before me the next day. We decided to skip breakfast due to the early hour because apparently nobody sleeps past six a.m. in an RV park. Maybe it has something to do with the million kids running rampant, I'm not sure, but we got under way in record time. 

Trowa drove, which meant Quatre got shotgun by default, so the rest of us nestled down to spend the next couple of hours passing the time. Bella and Wufei attempted another house of cards, but the motion of the road kept knocking it down. Hiiro had retreated to the back with his laptop, which left me and Relena to chat. It was odd, I'd never thought of myself as her favorite person. We certainly had the least in common of anyone aboard, but she just kept smiling at me until I felt comfortable and relaxed curled in the couch next to her. 

"What was it like?" she asked after a time. 

"What?" I inquired, nibbling on a bit of dry cereal because the store had been out of chips. 

"Growing up on L2."

My first inclination was to slap on a grin and quip something stupid that would make her smile and forget she asked, but somehow, for some unknown reason, I just didn't want to. 

"Ever been to hell?" I chuckled wryly and she joined me tactfully in my false mirth. 

"You never knew your parents?"

"No. The first thing I remember is running the streets with a pack of other war orphans."

"My god," she sighed softly, leaning closer as if to speak more gently. "How in the world did you survive?"

"Pure tenacity," I grinned. 

She laughed lightly and I wondered if she could even comprehend what she was asking about. 

"I can see you succeeding in that quite easily." Her tone was filled with a quiet respect. It was sad, but not in the least patronizing and left me with the feeling we had just stepped a little closer to actually becoming friends. "How did you end up becoming a Gundam pilot?"

"Stowed away on G's ship."

"I imagine he was less than pleased," she chuckled. 

"Actually, it impressed him enough to start my training. Then, once me and Deathscythe got together there was no separating us."

"It was special to you."

"Yeah," I smiled, thinking back. "He helped me change the world."

"I think you would have found a way to do that with or without a Gundam," she smiled and my mind ground to a slow halt. 

She had such faith is us...in me. There was no doubt in her mind that we...that I would accomplish my goals whatever they might be and when she smiled at me like that it was almost as if...

"I should probably see what Hiiro's come up with," I told her, making a hasty retreat. 

I know I confused her, but I had to get away and ducked in the bathroom on the way to the back of the camper. My heart was beating so hard my vision was blurring. It couldn't be. No way. But the way she looked at me...the way she was talking...it was almost as if she had...feelings for me? I suddenly felt ill and had to sit down. I couldn't let that happen, it'd kill Hiiro. What was he going to think if his true love all of a sudden announced she was head over heels for his best friend? Not to mention the fact that I sure as hell didn't love her! Not that she wasn't a fine catch, but she was Hiiro's girl. We all knew that, so when had the world gone crazy? 

"Duo?"

"Be out in a minute," I replied to Hiiro's inquiry. 

This was not going to happen. I'd have to find a way to deal with it, beginning with staying as far away from Relena as possible, so I did as I said and joined Hiiro when I came out. 

"Are you all right?" he asked. 

"Too many Cookie Crisps," I replied through a sour smile that wasn't all that hard to conjure up. "You having any luck?"

"There's been another note," he told me, showing me the scan. 

"Just like the others," I nodded. "Any patterns or clues in this one?"

He shook his head and glanced up front to check on Relena, who had found a magazine to read. "You two seem to be getting along well."

"She was just curious about life on L2," I shrugged, pushing the panic aside. "What's next on Wufei's sight seeing list?" His eyes shifted to Relena again, but he pulled up the list in his inbox and I groaned. "The Washington Museum of Hubcaps? What in the hell is that?"

"You wanted to see a giant ball of twine," Wufei scowled from the swivel chair just beyond the back wall. 

"That takes about ten minutes," I grumbled. "This place is three stories."

"You have a better idea?"

I think I scared him when I smiled. It was time to do a little work on my laptop now that I had a mission I could work with. I left the others to do whatever while I researched our route and what was available. We skipped the hubcaps in favor of stopping early for the night, which put us within two hours of a righteous day off. I closed my computer, having made the arrangements online just as we pulled into...Tex Handy's Slumber Bump? 

"Trowa, what dimension have you taken us to?" I asked, ignoring the snickers while I peered out the window. Half the campers were up on blocks and clearly hadn't moved in years, while the rest of the park appeared to harbor mobile homes. There was a little shower house and something that had once been a pool beside the remains of an ancient playground where a couple of kids were climbing all over a teeter-totter that didn't move until they stopped to look at us as if the aliens had landed. 

"They advertised electric and sewer," Trowa replied cautiously. 

I was sure Hiiro was going to insist we find somewhere else, but Relena had that look again. 

"We're already here," she reasoned, gazing thoughtfully at a woman in a shower cap that was staring openly at us. 

That, as usual, settled it. Wufei took care of securing a site, which turned out to be buried as far back in the park as possible, but still didn't get us far enough away from the locals for my taste. It wasn't that they were threatening or anything, but there was always the possibility of someone recognizing Relena and the last thing we wanted to do was defend her against overzealous fans, or not so friendly antagonists. Either way it seemed like a good idea to keep a low profile when on the locals’ home turf, so it was with a less than calm heart I dashed off after our wayward princess when she decided to wander off. 

"Relena!"

"Yes?" she smiled innocently and kept right on walking. 

"We should return to the camper," I told her and was grateful when Hiiro appeared at her other side. 

"Surely there's no harm in stretching my legs," she reasoned, all but ignoring him.

I felt a pang seeing the concern in his eyes, but what was I supposed to do? The Queen of the Universe wanted to take a walk, who was I to deny her? 

"Couldn't we walk the other way?" I asked, glancing back to find several of the locals had come out of their domiciles to check us out. 

Hiiro moved in closer and I figured I'd better defuse the situation when I saw him check his gun. 

"Hey, check it out," I grinned, pulling her toward the pool. Hiiro was right on our heels, but my sudden change of course had thrown him off balance enough to let me take control. "I think there are fish in here," I chuckled, squatting down to have a better look. 

"That's Mr. Fishlips," one of the kids informed us, jumping down from the immobile teeter-totter to come running over. "He's a cohee fish."

"Koi," Hiiro corrected automatically. 

"He's a big one," I praised, trailing my fingers along the surface so that the eighteen inch long fish came over to investigate. 

"Huck!" an overweight man in a wife beater t-shirt shouted, looking like he'd just swallowed his favorite pit bull. "Leave those people alone and get home!"

"Is this your fish?" I smiled. 

"Ain't nobody’s fish," he replied. "Just swims there."

"Someone had to have put it there," Hiiro commented quietly. 

"Relax," I mumbled. "I'm fairly certain the fish is harmless."

"He sucks on my fingers," the kid piped up sticking his hand in the water to demonstrate. "See?" he smiled when the fish did just as he said. "It don't hurt."

Relena's giggle was fuel enough to set Hiiro's ears aflame, so he was too busy to freak out when the man decided to come join us. 

"You kids staying long?" he asked in a much more friendly tone. 

"Just the night."

"Traveling are ya?"

Ummm... "Yeah."

"Where ya headed?" another of our silent spectators asked. 

"West," Hiiro replied curtly. 

"There are mountains out west!" the second child, a girl younger than the boy piped up, jumping from the teeter-totter before she ran over and grinned. "We been there once! Before the tire went flat."

We looked to see the tire in question, but my eyes were pulled away by the intensity of Relena's gaze. 

"Can't you get it fixed?" she asked evenly. 

"Work's been kind'a scarce `round here since the scrap yard closed down," he shrugged. "You fella's wanna sit a while? The missus just made a fresh pitcher of tea."

"We wouldn't want to..." 

"That would be lovely," Relena cut Hiiro off, leaving him scowling after her while she walked away with the two men. 

"Don't be mad," the little girl soothed, taking his hand. "Daddy's already gots a wife so he won't take yours."

I was unable to stifle the snorting laugh before it sealed my doom. The look Hiiro gave me promised great pain when he got the opportunity to administer it, but for the moment he was forced to seethe quietly while the kids led us toward their little, ramshackle home. I was aware of him informing the others of our situation through the wire he had slipped on before joining us and I kicked myself for having nothing but my knives on me. As unlikely as it was, if anything did happen I was ill prepared.

Whitey, as we came to know our host, introduced us to Millie, his wife, who apparently perpetually wore curlers in her hair and made a glass of tea that could put ten pounds on you. Huck’s little sister, Kami, was two years younger than the eight-year-old boy and had somehow become permanently attached to Hiiro's arm, which highly amused Her Highness so there was no escape. Before we quite knew what was happening we were invited to dinner, for which we were required to supply most of the food, and Trowa was showing off his skills at horseshoes. 

Quatre is a natural with kids, but his affect on them is a little scary. Huck was sitting beside him quietly asking questions for which he seemed to have an endless supply of answers. It is just strange to watch a child become so utterly docile, but when in the company of my gentle friend they just sort of zone out. Kami was hardly immune, but she refused to move far enough from Hiiro to ask any questions. 

Relena spent the evening in quiet observation. Her inquires were sometimes light and curiously amusing, but many of the questions held a deeper meaning I could only half understand. One thing was certain though, she had never seen people living under those conditions and wanted to understand their state of being. There was a moment when she glanced up and smiled at me and I realized I had been watching her reverently. I couldn't deny it; she was a beautiful person with a bright spirit and a heart as big as outer space. I felt a great deal of respect and admiration for her, but the thought that my feelings might have been misunderstood stole my smile away. My eyes fell directly to Hiiro to find him watching me quietly, but his expression was too indistinct to ascertain anything about what he was feeling. 

"What's that?" Kami asked, pointing to Wufei's laptop while he typed diligently and did his best to ignore the lot of us. 

"It's a computer," I explained. 

"We read about those in Mrs. Carpenter’s class," she informed me. 

I could not fathom a child having not seen a computer in that day and age so, I ran back to the camper and got mine. My willingness to share the new experience called Huck, Whitey and half the neighbors over to watch while Kami learned how to surf the net. Huck got a turn playing online games and I educated Whitey and his friends on a wonderful place called the Public Library where they could take the kids and use similar resources. Trowa had talked Hiiro into playing a game with him when Coon and Bobby Lee stalked off in defeat, but since neither of them ever missed it was a draw. The sun had set before we packed it in for the night and I wondered about the look on the local librarian’s face when this lot moseyed in to check their new email accounts. Trowa got the short straw and gave Wufei a warning glance before we all headed to our posts, but there was one more thing I had to do before I turned in. 

"Hey, Hilde."

"Duo!" she beamed. "I thought you were on assignment?"

"I am," I confirmed. "So I need to be brief."

"Is everything okay?"

"I sent you the address of a scrap yard here on Earth. It's a small hub that went out of business when the post war supplies ran out."

"What do you want me to do with it?" she asked warily. 

"Just take a look. The people here depended on it for an income. See if there's some way to revitalize it."

"All right," she smiled. "I'm sure we can do something with it even if it's empty it and put up something else."

"Thanks," I told her. "I owe ya one."

"You owe me more than one," she laughed, then added a heartfelt, "But who's counting?"

"Stay sweet."

"Be safe."

"That was a very noble thing to do."

I almost jumped out of my skin at the sound of Relena's voice. "Geez! Don't do that!"

"I thought soldiers were impossible to sneak up on," she laughed, coming to sit next to me at the picnic table in front of our camper. 

"I was...distracted," I grumbled, trying to hide the snicker. 

"Do you think she can help?"

"If she can't nobody can," I smiled. "She'll find a way. Hilde's a smart cookie."

"Yes," she agreed, gazing skyward at the twinkling stars. "Sometimes a brave heart isn't so hard to find."

I thought back on the first time they had met aboard Libra and wondered what Relena's impression of her was, but she changed my pattern of thought when she asked, "Was L2 anything like this?"

Back to that again. Was it some sort of misplaced sympathy I was sensing? Did she think I was special because of my past? "No," I replied, unable to withhold the information in the face of her sincerity. "These people have homes...families. We lived in holes or burned out buildings."

"How did you feed yourselves?" she wondered, gazing in the direction of Huck and Kami's trailer. 

"Stole what we could," I explained. "Hunted when there was nothing to steal."

Her gaze drifted back to me and I was aware of the crease on her brow, but my eyes had sought the sky. I knew what she would ask before the question passed her lips. 

"What did you hunt?"

She, of all the people in the universe, deserved an honest answer to the questions she dared to ask. 

"Rats."

"Oh, Duo," she breathed and suddenly threw her arms around me in a tight embrace. 

I had no idea what to do, so I just froze. This was not helping the situation. I hadn't wanted to bring her closer to me, but I couldn't not answer her questions, not when it meant a better understanding of the world beyond her sight. On the other hand, I couldn't allow her to continue on the path she was on. 

"Relena..."

"Duo?"

I jumped completely off the bench, leaving her sitting there blinking up at me at the sound of Hiiro's voice. He was half in half out of our tent as his eyes shifted between us and I suddenly wanted to be anywhere else in the world when I saw pain wash through his eyes before he disappeared back inside. 

"You should get some rest," I told her. 

She nodded and I waited for her to go back inside before girding my loins and braving the lion’s den. Hiiro was curled in a tight ball as far away from my sleeping bag as he could get with his back turned and no inkling that he intended to so much as glance my way. It hurt...a lot. 

"Your princess has a very curious nature," I told him, trying to keep my tone light. 

"She's not my princess," he replied curtly and it stung in more ways than one. 

"Don't let her hear you say that," I chuckled, but he remained silent. "I think this trip might be good for her," I went on while I situated myself. "She keeps asking questions about L2 and how bad life was during the war."

"She is an exceptional person," he commented. 

"Yeah, she is," I agreed, but it only seemed to make him tense up more. 

I didn't know how to fix it. Everything I tried just seemed to be making it worse, so I just laid down and waited for sleep to claim me. It took a good while in which I figured out that he hadn't slept much the night before because he fell asleep despite his anger. I didn't manage to doze off until right before dawn, which turned out to be a big mistake because I tend to have strange dreams when I don't get enough sleep. I don't remember what they were about other than I was young and looking for a hidey hole for me and the other kids to burrow in, but I woke up wrapped around Hiiro's neck and didn't realize it wasn't Solo until it was too late. 

"Don't," he moaned when I tried to move. I knew he was still asleep when his arm snaked around my waist, but that didn't make it any easier to breathe. 

"Hiiro?" I whispered dazedly. "Hey, man...wake up." 

"Not yet," he mumbled while his other arm joined the first and he rolled over and pinned me while he groaned, "Too warm."

It was way past fucking warm. "Hiiro." 

"Why can't you just be still for five minutes?" he grumbled, sort of fluffing me up like I was his pillow or something. 

Well, what was I supposed to say to that? I was at a total loss and on the brink of suffocation from the sheer power of my pulse in my throat. He was so warm, so strong and solid and really I just couldn't get my head around the fact that he was holding me like that. He had to have been dreaming, maybe dreaming of Relena? I had no way of knowing and not enough thought capacity to do much about it but lay there and try to remember to breathe. It took several long minutes before he finally began to surface and opened his eyes to gaze at me curiously. I could see the calculations in his eyes as he assessed the situation, then they clouded over with guilt and embarrassment. 

"Sorry," he rasped through a dry throat rolling away and I had just enough mind to realize he thought he'd been the one cuddling me in my sleep. 

"S'all right."

"What time is it?" 

"Five?"

He was quiet for a moment before repeating, "Sorry."

"No big deal," I yawned casually, but he caught me off guard when he told me...

"You're very...warm."

Quite flatfooted if I do say so. "Were you cold?" was all I could think of.

"No," he replied. "But I've never experienced that sort of...companionship before."

"Nobody ever cuddled you when you were young?" I chuckled, but it didn't seem funny anymore when he shook his head. "It's all right," I reassured. "I didn't mind it all that much." 

I left him to whatever thoughts he had on that and went to start my morning. We'd been on the road for almost two days and the only shower was the one in the camper that Bella and Relena were using and we sure as hell weren't going to make her share it with five guys, so I gathered my things and headed for the shower house. There was only a fifty-fifty chance it would actually work, but I needed to step back from the group for a minute. Happily, it seemed the residents kept this part of the park in good condition, probably because many of them used it themselves, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. There was even hot water, so I decided to take my hair down and wash it properly. 

My thoughts revolved around Hiiro and Relena. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was happening, something that was going to change things between the three of us forever. I just had to find some way to make sure Hiiro didn't get the short end of the stick. How could someone grow up without having ever been held? Hell, even I had someone to curl up with even if it was just a bunch of other kids. That thought lead me to thinking about the morning and how it felt to have his arms around me, but before the weird feeling in my chest could fully take form I heard a sound outside that made me stop to peer out the little, slit of a vent window. 

Hiiro had gotten up as well, but his morning ritual appeared to include playground repairs that day. He was over by the rusted teeter-totter with a can of oil in his hand. I got this warm feeling inside while I watched him oil the pivot point and walk around to the high side of the equipment, but that warm feeling burned hot when he reached up, took hold of it and pulled. The guy is just freakishly strong, I knew the teeter-totter didn't stand a chance, but he took it easy, trying not to splinter the thing and I felt my pulse thumping in my temples while I watched his arms tense, the raw determination in his eyes burning as brightly as the heat inside me when the metal began to groan, then all of a sudden it popped loose and I ducked back from the window utterly flabbergasted over why I couldn't catch my breath. That only lasted until I realized I was well on my way to having a raging hard on and everything inside my head shifted. 

"Shit," I recall breathing while I stepped back under the spray and cranked down the heat. The water went icy, solving half my problem when my balls tried to crawl up my ass, but at least the evidence of my arousal was gone. This...complicated things. I always thought Hiiro was a handsome guy, he's every girls dream boy actually, strong, stoic and lean. As dependable as the day is long and gorgeous as well, but I never realized he could affect me that way. I thought about our tent with trepidation, then remembered we shared an apartment back home and groaned. 

"Duo?"

"On my way!" I answered Quatre's inquiry. 

"We're packing everything up to leave on your schedule," he told me. 

"Great! Be right there!"

The day had come, which meant it was time to put it all aside and show my friends what it meant to have fun Duo style. We still had four more days to reach California, so I figured taking a day off wasn't going to hurt. Besides, these guys seriously needed to lighten up. They had the tents broken down and stowed when I returned and Millie and her friend Fran showed up with a basket of biscuits and boiled eggs. I watched while Relena thanked them and grinned until it hurt when I saw the kids playing hard on the teeter-totter, Huck and Kami's little faces alight with pure joy as they rose and fell and that warm feeling seeped back into my chest when I glanced at Hiiro. He was watching them and his satisfied expression brought a little of the kids’ joy to my heart. 

"Load up, campers," I smiled and got us back on the highway. Wufei sat beside me with his laptop in his hands while he checked possible destinations, but I wasn't giving any clues. 

I didn't mean to, but I think I might have been pushing Hiiro away a little. He seemed to get more agitated with me as the morning wore on until he finally settled himself in the back with his laptop again. I had other things on my mind at that point though, and couldn't stop grinning when Wufei finally figured it out. 

"Oh no, you didn't?" he asked, staring at the web page.

"What?" Bella grinned, diving forward to have a peek and Relena was right behind her when she squealed. 

"Duo!" the princess exclaimed. "What a wonderful idea! Wait...did I pack a suit?" 

"Do you own a suit?" Bella laughed, disappearing with her to go search their bags. 

"What have you done?" Quatre chuckled, poking his nose in and I grinned toothily when his eyes got wide and bright with excitement. 

"What?" Trowa asked from the chair where he'd been reading. 

Quatre turned to smile at him with a gleam in his eyes while he happily reported, "Six Flags."

We had to make a stop at a department store in St. Louis to pick up some supplies. Relena had not packed a suit, silly girl, nor had Bella or any of the guys. It took over an hour, but we came away with brand new swim suits, a bag full of water guns, floaties and sunscreen and marched our way back out to the camper. Relena decided to take the passenger seat beside me as her excitement to see the park was making her a tad giddy. It was only another twenty-minute drive, but she was fairly bouncing in her seat by the time we arrived. 

"Oh look!" she squealed, pointing to one of the roller coasters. 

"Oh, my," Bella breathed, watching while the train spiraled straight up into nowhere and then sped back down again backward. 

"There are seven major roller coasters here," I informed them. 

"I want to try Hurricane Harbor," Trowa commented, staring at the park information on his screen. 

"Look at all the water slides," Quatre exclaimed. 

"There's another one!" Relena gushed pointing excitedly, but her glee was suddenly interrupted by Hiiro's commanding tone. 

"We've just received another threat on Relena's life. That place is a security risk," he stated simply, bringing a frown to every face in ear shot. 

"There are enough of us to protect her," Quatre argued. 

"It's highly unlikely anyone even knows where we are," Trowa added. 

"Besides we have plenty of time!" That was Bella. 

"I agree with Hiiro," Wufei piped up, making the girls pout. "Any one of those thrill rides could easily be used to harm her."

"Please, Hiiro," Relena smiled and I suddenly couldn't hide the grin. 

Under normal circumstances there was no way he could have resisted giving into that sort of entreaty by Her Majesty, but though I saw the effort it took he still managed to clearly state, "No."

"Let’s put it to a vote then," she countered, but he only repeated the command.

"No."

"It's only fair..."

"This is not a democracy," he cut her off. "Where your safety is concerned I am ultimately responsible. Spending the day here would be an invitation to anyone threatening you. I cannot allow it."

I felt a pain in my chest when she suddenly looked as if she might cry and couldn't let it pass. 

"Come on, Hiiro," I reasoned. "Everyone's looking forward to it and you'll be right there by her side..."

"Or perhaps you would prefer that station?"

I was utterly floored by the vehemence in his tone for a moment, but then what he was insinuating sank in and it pissed me off. "If that's what it takes to give her back a day of her youth...yes."

"Duo," Relena broke in softly, but it was too late to smooth it over. 

"I am still in command of this unit," he snipped. 

"Then do what's best for the group instead of what's convenient for you," I retorted. 

"Perhaps this was a bad idea," Quatre began. 

"No," Bella shook her head. "It was a splendid idea. I don't understand why he's being so stubborn."

"He's only looking out for me," Relena reasoned. 

"But you were so excited," Bella countered. "I don't think I've ever seen your eyes so bright."

"Nothing's going to happen," I assured him. 

"Yeah," Quatre smiled, projecting his best soothing aura. "Let's just have a look. It seems like a lot of fun."

"Come on, Relena," Bella giggled, pulling her from her seat, but Hiiro stepped boldly between them and the door and I bowed up like a hen-hungry cock. 

"The lady wants to leave," I told him, standing to face him dead on. 

His eyes narrowed as did mine and the camper fell deathly quiet until Wufei's gentle tenor softly intoned...

"The risk is not worth jeopardizing the dynamics of the team."

It took a minute, but Hiiro finally backed off and stepped aside and though I was very much unhappy with him in that moment I wasn't going to let his jealousy or whatever it was spoil it for the rest of us. 

"Promise," I smiled, ushering the ladies past. "If any bad guys bother us you can shoot’em in the ass and dump'em off the top of Superman's tallest tower."

"That's Superman?" Trowa grinned pointing to the skyward spiral track that had impressed Relena upon our arrival while we stepped outside. 

"That's the one."

I was happy that Hiiro decided to merely sulk instead of getting genuinely pissed because it made pissing with him a lot less dangerous. He still wasn't happy, but the positive energy of the park coupled with the excitement of our little group soon pulled him into a place where he almost looked like he was having fun. At least until Relena bounced over and latched onto my arm. 

"Let's try that one next!" she beamed through sparkling blue eyes and cheeks flushed with the rush of a world-class roller coaster. The girl was insatiable when it came to thrill rides and the bigger and badder they were the more times she wanted to ride. I saw Hiiro's eyes flick to where she was holding my arm and tried to think of a way to defuse the situation. 

"Take Hiiro on this one," I suggested, peeling her off while I leaned in and whispered, "I think Bella wants me to ride with her."

"Bella?" she questioned, glancing at the girl where she was buying a drink nearby. 

"Yeah," I smiled, winking at Hiiro. "I think she's got a thing for me." 

"Bella?!" she scoffed, laughing heartily and for a second I was almost offended, but then I just didn't know what to think. "Sorry," she finally snickered. "It's just that...Bella is a lesbian."

"........" 

"......."

"She has a live-in lover named Patrice," she explained. "They've been together since college, so I doubt very seriously she has any interest in you."

"No shit?" I mused, looking the girl in question over again. 

"No shit," she echoed and laughed out loud when Hiiro's jaw bounced off the ground. "Now, come on!" she enthused, dragging me toward her coaster of choice. "This one has a double switch back and a full loop!"

I gazed back at my partner with the most helpless expression I could muster, but I doubt it conveyed how I really felt. It was hopeless, she kept me by her side making me buy her snacks and drinks and take her on every ride in the park while Hiiro trailed along behind us looking utterly miserable. I couldn't figure it out. When had she transferred her feelings onto me? Or had she? It occurred to me in there somewhere that maybe she was trying to make him jealous. If that were the case it seemed to be working, but it was also making him angry with me and that part royally sucked. I needed to find a way to get away from her and let Hiiro step in. 

"I think I'm going to go take a soak with Quatre and Trowa."

"Oh, that's a splendid idea!" she crowed. 

"I thought you wanted to go on the Boss again?" 

"We've already been twice," she shrugged, digging in her bag before her eyes flashed wickedly and she grinned, "Last one in is on sunscreen duty!" and pulled a pale green, string bikini out to dangle before our eyes. 

I don't know which of us turned the whiter shade of pale, but we both forgot how to walk for a minute before stumbling after our giggling charge. When we arrived at the water park section we found Trowa had mastered the wave pool with little effort. Surfing was a bit of a back step for him after all. Quatre was sunning lazily in the adjacent lagoon watching his lover show off and Wufei had apparently found a group that was into playing underwater games. From the sound of it they were currently challenging him in an attempt to break his perfect winning streak, but I didn't figure it was going to happen any time soon. 

"Have you been on the slides?" I asked Quatre as we approached. 

"Several times," he smiled listlessly and I chuckled at the sloe-eyed expression on his face. 

"That good, huh?"

"Amazing," he sighed, but I had to wonder if he meant the slides or Trowa because his eyes were locked longingly on him. 

"What do you say princess?" I grinned. 

"Do you mind if I join Trowa for awhile?" Bella asked. 

"Of course not," Relena excused her. "I think it would be nice to rest for a while."

"You could ride the water rafts," Hiiro deadpanned and I got the feeling he did not intend to join us. 

This was bad. If he was reaching a point where he was ready to accept something going on between me and Relena we had a real problem. One, because I didn't feel that way about her and two, because he obviously did. 

"That's an idea," I smiled, stepping back. "You two go ahead," I told them, already moving away. "I'm going to go see if I can round up some lunch."

"But, Duo..."

"See you in a bit," I smiled and waved as I turned my back. 

I hadn't left them much choice, so by the time I got back from my snack run they had already started their raft ride. I slipped into the cool water of the lagoon with Quatre to watch Trowa and Bella surf and just sat back to coast for a minute. 

"This was a great idea," Quatre smiled lazily. 

"Thanks," I sighed, leaning back in my inner tube in the warm sun. 

"You and Relena seem to be getting on well."

So much for relaxing. "I guess."

"Any new ideas on who might be the threat?"

"No." The new letter had been the same as all the others. 

"Don't you think it's odd?" he commented, smiling while Trowa did a one-handed handstand on his board. "I mean, we haven't had even the smallest incident."

"Maybe the camper bit threw them off," I shrugged. 

He laughed. "I suppose that's possible, but...she's been behaving so..."

"Immaturely?" I grinned and he laughed again. 

"Perhaps free spirited is a more apt description."

"She's only seventeen," I reminded him. 

"None of us were ever seventeen," he countered. 

"That doesn't mean we don't wish we were."

"You know," he went on absently, watching Trowa try to teach Bella how to stay on her board. "I always thought she had special feelings for Hiiro...but lately…"

"She's just having fun," I interrupted. "This is probably the closest thing she's ever had to a real vacation."

"Yes, but..."

"Where's the sunscreen?" I asked. "You're starting to look like someone’s entree."

He gave me his narrow-eyed look, but I didn't wait for a reply before sinking beneath the surface and kicking off toward the stairs. So it had spread through the ranks. Quatre had picked up on Relena's strange new attachment for me, so it was a sure bet Trowa was also aware of it and after my display on Relena's behalf over the park I was sure Wufei had an opinion on the subject as well. The whole thing was getting way out of hand, but when we returned to the camper and found an RV park for the night everyone was too damn tired to do much of anything but collapse. 

Relena had reattached herself to my arm the moment she and Hiiro were off the raft and he remained miserable for the duration. It wasn't all that late when we retired, but the day had exhausted us all so I soon found myself lying beside him, Quatre had gotten the short straw and Trowa and Wufei were bedded down in the second tent. He was so quiet I couldn't think of a single thing to say that didn't seem invasive. It was probably an hour before dawn when I woke feeling warm and cozy and suddenly realized he was the warm coziness that had surrounded me. 

His body lay close, pressing into mine, his arms gently cradling me to him. I felt his breath warm and alive against my neck and dared to crack open an eye to see his slumbering face. I probably shouldn't have, knew it the minute I saw him laying silently in the dim light, but it was too late and I couldn't hide from the feelings that were stirring inside me anymore. I wanted to touch him, it was an urge so strong I didn't register my hand reaching for his face until I saw it out of the corner of my eye and forced it to retreat. My eyes were drawn to his mouth where soft lips gently lay and I was taken with the desire to kiss them sweetly. I began to understand as I gazed at him and felt the thrill of his arms tightening around me the real reason why the possibility of a relationship with Relena bothered me so much. I wasn't afraid of loosing his friendship, I was afraid of loosing my chance with him. I lay quietly in his arms and contemplated this revelation until he began to stir. 

"Mmm, sorry," he mumbled, realizing before he was fully awake that he was cuddling me again. 

"S'alright," I replied. I'm not sure if it was the tone of my voice, the complete lack of irritation or the fact that it was obvious I had been awake for some time that made him stay, but he stopped pulling away and snuggled back against my side. 

"Thanks," he mumbled after a moment and I nodded while he cuddled some more and repressed the raging desire to hold him too. 

"Duo?" he asked after a time. 

"Hm?"

"Do you...love her?"

Finally. "No," I told him, feeling a weight lift from my shoulders. I had needed to tell him that, but had no idea how to bring it up. 

"The way you look at her..."

"I suppose I do," I amended, feeling him sag. "But not like that. Not as a potential mate." Not like him. 

"She seems quite taken with you."

"I think she's just looking for a playmate," I shrugged. "You know? Someone to goof off with while she has the chance."

He grew quiet for a time, then felt compelled to tell me, "She asks about you."

Shit. "About L2?"

"About your childhood." They had been talking about me all this time? "About the wars."

"Sometimes I get the feeling she thinks I can help her find the answers to some of her questions about how the other half lives."

I felt his arms tighten around me when he added, "What your favorite food is."

Damn it. "What...did you tell her?" I asked at a loss for anything else to say. 

"The dead kind," he chuckled and I laughed along. 

"Good answer."

"I thought you would appreciate it," he said and I sighed softly when he curled a little closer. "Is this what it was like?" he asked at length, but it took me a minute to work out what he was asking. 

"Not really," I replied. "It's not the same when you're a kid piled up with a pack of other kids to keep warm. We huddled together out of necessity not..." ...oops.

"Not...what?" he asked so softly I felt the words on my skin more than heard them. 

My face burned hotly, but I swallowed my trepidation and answered him honestly. "Affection?"

"You feel affection for me?" 

"Sure," I shrugged. "You're my partner aren't you?"

The silence grew until I began to think perhaps I had said too much, then he asked in the most uncertain tone I had ever heard him use, "What...exactly...does that mean?"

Oh god damn. How in the hell was I going to handle this one? "Just that I want you to be happy, I guess," I evaded. 

"To what extent?"

"What?"

"Never mind," he replied and suddenly rolled away. 

I was left with a very cold spot against my side and no clue what he was getting at. Did he want me to help him win Relena? "Hey, Hiiro?"

"Good morning, Duo," Quatre smiled when I stuck my head out of the tent. 

"Oh...hey, Quat...what time is it?"

"Six o'five," he grinned, fussing with something in his bag. 

I eyed him carefully noting the flush on his cheeks and the spring in his step and returned the smile full force. "Don't you two ever sleep?" I laughed, hauling my ass out into the daylight. 

"There's plenty of time for that when you're old," Trowa commented, sliding smoothly up behind his lover to hold him gently. 

The expression on Quatre's face was soft and coy and so full of happy contentment it made me ache inside. I suddenly wanted to know how that felt. The problem was I wanted Hiiro to be the one to show me. 

"Did you see where Hiiro went?"

"He's inside helping Relena with breakfast," Quatre replied. 

Well, it was a sure bet we weren't having the conversation I was thinking about having in front of her, so I set about taking the tent down and stowing our gear. Breakfast was a spicy affair involving eggs, bell peppers and onion that told me he had kicked Relena out fairly early on. It was a dish he often made when he was upset back at home. I felt bad being part of the problem, but the food was good so I ate it with everyone else. 

Quatre decided to take a turn behind the wheel and managed to get us on the road with the loss of only one tree branch along the way. I don't care what anyone says, campers have a lot of ass. Trowa rode beside him of course and Bella had talked Relena into doing some work at the table. Hiiro had curled up with his laptop in the back to sulk while Wufei and I inhabited the living area. He was folded into the chair reading something I couldn't identify because it was written in Chinese and I was lying on the couch stewing about Hiiro and Relena. That got old real quick and I decided to take my frustration out on my unsuspecting Chinese friend. 

"What'cha reading?"

"Chun Lee To's philosophy on political control in the Asian regions of the United Nations."

"....Who's he?"

His eyes rolled up just over the rim of his glasses to stare at me a moment. "A Chinese philosopher," he deadpanned. 

"Oh," I nodded, suppressing the smirk. "Is he a politician?" 

Now he was glaring, but he did answer after a time. "Yes."

Quatre was going to ruin it because he was already giggling quietly. 

"You actually brought that sort of stuff with you?" I asked, tossing Trowa a warning glace that I hoped would prompt him to quiet his giddy lover. 

Wufei sighed softly and laid the book in his lap while he replied, "Apparently."

"Why?"

"Didn't you bring your headphones?" he asked shortly. 

"They're packed away," I grumbled, noting that Trowa had taken Quatre's hand to distract him. 

"Perhaps you should get them out," he commented, picking his book back up. 

"Why don't you just read to me instead?" I asked, unable to hide the smile tugging at my lips. 

He peered at me over his glasses again with an expression as seriously solemn as it ever had been while his eyes fell back to the page and I lost it cracking up with everyone else when he began to read out loud in Chinese. That was my cue to relent, so I did go fish my headphones and player out of my bag. Between my music and the files on my laptop the day began to slip by. 

I still couldn't come up with any sort of pattern in the letters. They were definitely from the same source, but had been mailed from different countries. I had already looked for a political tie, perhaps someone who attended multinational meetings, but nothing matched up. As a matter of fact, there seemed to be no connection between them at all other than the text and syntax. They were your run of the mill threats, nothing uncommon other than the fact that they bothered Une enough to send us on this crazy mission. That was a bigger mystery than the letters themselves. Why five Gundam pilots were needed to take Relena across the country. Why we had to drive or the extended time frame in which to make the trip. It just didn't make sense. I got bored and started playing word games with the letters by early afternoon, but the results were disturbing so I shut it down. I did not need anyone noticing I had rearranged the letters to say 'hold me Hiiro'.

Stupid game anyway.

"Where are we?" 

"Kansas," Trowa replied. 

"Anywhere near Cawker City?" I grinned. 

A quick search revealed we were less than half an hour from the world’s largest ball of twine. I think it was more the need to get out and stretch our legs than any true desire to see the thing that altered our course. Cawker City is a small town with little to offer other than their huge cat toy, so finding a spot to park wasn't a problem. The ball wasn't hard to find either as it sat on the side of the road under a leaky roof. Some of the shops in town sported pictures depicting different stages of the fibrous orb. Relena laughed out loud when I pointed out the Mona Lisa cradling a mini version of the ball in a shop along the way. 

Once we arrived all we did was sort of stand there in front of it and stare. It was big, but it wasn't really a ball anymore. The outside layers had sagged until it looked more like someone had dropped a huge dollop of hairy gravy on the ground. And it smelled like wet socks. Jack, the current keeper of the unspooler appeared, offering us each a turn at wrapping some fresh twine around it, which Bella took great delight in taking pictures of. We figured we should probably get lunch before we left just to help them pretend they were a tourist town, then got back on the road. The whole trip took less than two hours and turned out to have been one of my less than stellar ideas. 

We found a park somewhere on the eastern boarder of Colorado and by some odd coincidence I got the short straw. It seemed appropriate since I was seriously considering talking to Hiiro about the things I'd been feeling that night. I guess it was better if I left it alone until my head was on better. The look Hiiro gave me when he left for the night just about broke my heart. I told him I wasn't in love with his girlfriend, but for some reason the fact that she was still treating me like her favorite puppy was undermining my claim. Once again I was invaded by the strangest feeling when she refused to settle down until well after Bella had fallen asleep and then she chose to settle on the couch next to me. 

"Thanks," I told her accepting the hot tea she'd made me. 

"Is everything all right between you and Hiiro?" she asked. 

I remembered the confrontation the previous day and smiled for her. "We've had worse fights."

"I can imagine," she chuckled. 

"He usually gets over it," I explained, sipping my tea. 

"Usually?" 

"Well...so far." I was hoping she wasn't going to be the one thing he couldn't forgive me for. 

"He's an amazing man," she sighed and I heard a bell go off in my head. 

"He thinks you're pretty special, too," I grinned.

"Me?" she laughed. "He almost killed me four times."

"Don't hold that against him," I told her, smiling while I folded up in the corner of the couch. "He's wanted to kill me dozens of times."

"Somehow I doubt that," she chuckled. "You're all he ever wants to talk about."

The comment struck me dumb. Wasn't that what he said about her?

"Was Hilde able to help those people?" she asked. 

"Umm...I don't know. I was sort of breaking the rules to call her while on an assignment," I explained, but my mind was still on her last comment. 

"It hardly feels like a special agent escort with you along," she smiled. 

My bell was ringing a little flat all of a sudden. "I think Hiiro would have preferred I stayed in bed," I chuckled. 

"Be that as it may," she replied and a little voice in my head went `wait`, but she apparently didn't hear it. "You've managed to turn what had promised to be another boring transfer into a lovely, little vacation." I didn't know what to say, so I just listened while she smiled, laid her hand gently on top of mine and said, "Thank you."

"You're...welcome," I replied uncertainly. Her hand was cool and smooth, delicate in the extreme compared to Hiiro's or the guys. I was afraid to move lest I break it or something, then she laughed softly and withdrew it on her own. "We still have three days," I reminded her, trying to move the conversation along. "Is there anything you would like to do?"

"Well," she sighed, cocked her head in thought, then blushed softly and pished while she waved her tiny hand. "No...it's silly."

"We're in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do for the next three days," I grinned. "Silly is first on the go list out here."

"Well," she began again unable to really look at me while her face pinked darker. "I've always wanted to...go dancing."

Dancing? She did that every week, I didn't get it. "That shouldn't be too hard to set up," I smiled retrieving my laptop. "I'm sure there's a ballroom between here and..."

"No," she shook her head and I felt something heavy drop into the pit of my stomach when she rolled her eyes up and I saw this evil little light playing in their depths while she smiled and explained, "I mean clubbing."

Oh shit. That's all I could think. Oh shit. Hiiro would castrate me. Hell, he'd castrate me, shove my balls down my throat and feed me to an angry wolverine. "Relena," I chuckled nervously. "I don't think..."

"I know, it was wrong of me to ask," she sighed so depressingly it tore at my heart to think of her imprisoned in her ivory tower with nothing but dreams of a life she would never be allowed to lead. 

"Hey," I smiled, touching her arm supportively, but the moment I felt the smoothness of her skin under my fingertips I drew it away. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy your life. Not even if you're the Queen of the Universe," I grinned and was happy that I got the smile. 

"I am not the `Queen of the Universe'," she chuckled, rolling her big, blue eyes.

"There are some who will never be able to see you as anything less," I smiled and though I was speaking of Hiiro her eyes warmed over dangerously, so I promised, "I'll see what I can do," just to move things in a different direction. 

She thanked me and took my empty teacup away before retiring and leaving me to build my gallows in peace. Clubbing. Princess Proper wanted to go clubbing. I opened a map and groaned when I realized we would have to go straight through Nevada on our present course. If there was anywhere on the planet one could have a righteous `clubbing` experience it was Las Vegas. Had it been anyone but Relena I would have been setting up something indecently delicious considering the opportunity, but it was the Vice Foreign Minister and the most highly respected politician known to man I was dealing with, not to mention the inevitability of my own pain when Hiiro found out, so I looked for somewhere out of the way. Somewhere that wouldn't be too wild that might still provide Her Highness with a cheap thrill, but while I was typing up the itinerary and reserving tickets to a ballet I thought she might enjoy, my fingers stopped cold. 

If it were anyone but Relena I would have been making sure it was a night that would not soon be forgotten. That thought made me a little ill when I stopped to think about it, because that's exactly what always happened to her. Everyone was always trying so hard to keep her safe or impress her she never got a chance to just kick her shoes off and be a teenage girl. She was on `vacation` as the case may be, there had been absolutely no sign of any danger on the entire trip and she was in the company of not only the five most dangerous people alive, we were all young, hot and more than capable of taking the city by storm. I grinned, hit the clear button and started over. If Miss Relena Peacecraft wanted to go clubbing she was in for the night of her life. 

"Duo? What in the world are you doing?"

"Mornin, Quat," I smiled tying off the last of the wiring to the chassis of the camper before I crawled out from under it and brushed the dirt off. 

"What were you doing under there?" he asked again, peering beneath our mobile habitat. 

"Granting wishes," I smirked, looking him over in a way that made him take a wary step back and ask... 

"What're you up to?"

To which I replied with a wide grin while I wiped the grime off my hands, "Ever tried on a girdle?"

It wasn't all that hard to talk him into going along with my plan. He was almost as determined as I was to see to it that Relena got her chance at a taste of life while the getting was good. Out of all of us, he understood well the strength of the walls that contained her and how unforgiving they were when it came to one’s own personal enjoyment, so along about three in the afternoon when we were well over the Utah border, he moseyed up to the cab and whispered something in his lover’s ear that soon had us pulling off the highway and headed for the nearest mall. 

"Why do we need to stop so early?" Wufei was grumbling while Quatre and I got ready for our little jaunt into the twilight zone in the back. 

"We need supplies," I answered, making sure the door was shut securely while my partner in crime poured himself into one of Bella's mini skirts. 

"We have everything we need," Hiiro commented. 

"Not us," I told them. "For the girls."

"Are we there yet?" Quatre asked his lover. 

"Five minutes," Trowa replied, sounding highly amused and he hadn't even seen us yet. 

"I don't understand why we can't all go," Wufei groused while I touched up my make up in the mirror. 

"Sorry, guys," I smiled, winking at Quatre who looked stunning in Relena's pink top before I threw the door open and grinned, "Ladies only."

Wufei stood up gasping in shock while Trowa swerved in his attempt to get a decent look and Hiiro fell flat on his ass. 

Bella had supplied a pretty, little hat for Quatre to hide his short hair, but I'd only had to take mine down and rearrange it. The crown ponytail only held about half of it while the rest was left loose to cascade down my back, which made it a good six inches longer than when braided. Quatre is actually thicker than me, but it doesn't usually show as much as it did with him in the mini skirt and me wearing Relena's slacks. Now, she is thinner than me so they sort of looked more like they had been painted on, but that worked with the high crop blouse Bella had loaned me so it was okay. My usual boots fit right in with my outfit, but Quatre had borrowed a pair of Bella's sandals and we were both painted with rouge and mascara so that not even Une would have been able to pick us out of a crowd. 

"I think I want my skirt back," Bella chuckled. 

"Really?" Quatre smiled, turning to check out his ass and Trowa swerved again when he turned back to get a look. 

"Duo?" Wufei breathed, looking me over carefully. 

"What?" I asked, smoothing my clothes and checking my hair self-consciously. "Is my seam crooked or something?"

"You actually intend to go out in public like that?" he asked incredulously. 

"The girls want to go shopping," I replied defensively. 

"Hiiro," he whined. "You can't let him wander around like that! He'll draw the attention of every male within a five mile radius!"

"What?" I gaffed, trying not to laugh my ass off. I was afraid of what Hiiro would say, but he appeared to still be a tad stunned. "We're going to be going places that would seem odd for a guy," I explained. 

"`Scuse me," Trowa said softly as he had parked and was headed for the blushing Quatre. 

"Slow down, lover boy," I laughed, snagging his shirt. "He's already got a date."

"That should be illegal," Trowa grinned, looking Quatre over like he wished he had a spoon. 

"I believe in some states it is," Wufei supplied. 

"Ladies, if you please?" I chuckled, hoping to get us out of there before Hiiro's mind came back from wherever it had gone. 

We made it outside and five yards away before I heard him shout my name. Fighting with Hiiro had been penciled in on the list in several places on my overall plan, but I had hoped to skip it if possible, so when I turned to face him it was with a bright smile and an expression of utmost innocence. 

"Yes?"

He stopped as if he'd hit a brick wall as his eyes darted to Relena and back to me, then to the ground and back to me again. I was starting to get dizzy, so I raised a brow at him and he wiped his palms on his jeans while he choked out a quiet, "Be careful," and disappeared back in the camper. 

Wufei looked like he'd eaten a porcupine for lunch and Trowa still looked like he wanted to make Quatre his next meal, so I put Hiiro's strange behavior out of mind and got the hell out of there. I hate to admit it, but without the terrible trio, though that's not fair to Trowa, but Quatre is more fun when he's not worried about displeasing his mate, we had a blast. Some of the things Relena insisted on trying on shouldn't be allowed outside the bedroom, but I finally talked her into something more appropriate. The upside was that it didn't show any naked skin; the down was that it was so tight it didn't have to. Still, it was the most conservative thing she had looked at, but I still say the bikini was less provocative. It was a sure bet no one in the Earth’s Sphere was going to recognize her dressed like that though, so we headed for the food court while Quatre let Bella finish picking out her ensemble. 

A man there insisted on buying us an ice cream and I ended up having to step on his toe when he tried to pinch my ass, then I had to talk the princess out of piercing her eyebrow to add to her disguise. We did end up with a clip on brow stud however, and Bella got her belly button done. Then it was off to the accessory shop where black chokers and chain belts were purchased along with a feather boa of hot pink and black and a leather jacket I would have sold a sibling for if I'd had one. Relena insisted on buying it for me and since it was going to be perfect for my role as her bodyguard, as strange as that seemed, when we got to Vegas, I let her. A quick stop by the salon changed our pretty blonde Minister into a raven haired beauty which so made her blue eyes stand out she barely resembled a human being. Alien is what came to mind, some sort of beautiful, alien creature you might see on the cover of a fantasy novel. The entire trip took a little over three hours so supper was ready when we burst through the door in a giggling mass of pampered, frivolous fun.

"I think you broke his toe!" Bella was laughing. 

"He shouldn't have tried to pinch my ass," I laughed, dumping our bags on the floor. 

"Someone assaulted you?" Hiiro stood to ask, then got a look at Relena and sat back down. 

"Just some flirt," I snickered at his expression. 

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Quatre smiled, but gasped when Trowa suddenly embraced him and lifted him off the floor to carry him toward the back. 

"I believe the lady wants her skirt back," was the last thing we heard before the door slid shut. 

"You should change, too," Wufei commented, looking offended by my attire. 

"Why?" I smiled, turning my ass toward him. "Doesn't it suit me?" 

His eyes tracked my movement when I slowly bent over and the next thing I knew he had slapped my ass and I was suddenly holding Hiiro back so he didn't rip his arm off. 

"Chill out!" I laughed, though my gut was tied in knots while I pushed against his superior strength and Wufei helped things along by commenting sulkily...

"He started it."

"Geez! Hiiro, come on," I soothed and he started to back off. "He was only kidding around."

"This day is over," he stated clearly. "Wufei, find a suitable park for the night and you," he said burrowing into my skull with is gaze. "Wash that stuff off and get changed."

I gaped at him while he joined Wufei in the cab, but did as he ordered when we were under way. Once we were tucked in for the night he told Wufei to stay with the girls without allowing the drawing of the straws and rushed everyone to their respective corners as quickly as possible. I had no idea what to think or feel when he lay down next to me and gathered me into his arms. 

"Hiiro?"

"What," he snipped as if challenging me to say something. 

"Are you...okay?" I asked cautiously. 

He hesitated, then tucked me a little closer before he asked, "Did he hurt you?"

"He never even touched me," I chuckled. "What's this all about? You know I can handle myself."

"His intentions were...he thought..."

"I was a girl?" 

"..."

"That didn't make me any more vulnerable," I reasoned. 

"He hit on you."

"So?" I snorted. "It's not like guys haven't hit on me before."

"When?" he demanded, sitting up to peer down at me and I suddenly couldn't catch my breath. 

"Lots of times," I breathed, though if asked I wasn't sure if I could recall any at the time. 

He considered me for a time, then lay back down and pulled me close against him while he mumbled, "I suppose they would."

"Hiiro?" My chest felt like it was going to dissipate and blow away with the wind. 

"Hn?" 

"................................" What did I want to say?

"Duo?" he softly inquired, rising above me again, but this time it wasn't so far and I was instantly lost in his eyes. My breath came in short and silent while his head tilted toward mine and he rested his forehead on my cheek before he quietly confessed, "I don't know what to do." 

There was a flame burning inside me, a heat that seemed to have waited forever for him to give it life and I felt it exhale from my body when I asked, "About wha...?"

I never got to finish the question as he was suddenly kissing me and that flame instantly flared into a raging inferno. It was so hot, so completely overwhelming I barely noticed my arms wrapping around his neck as my mouth hungrily devoured his. My reaction was apparently more than he was expecting because he seemed suddenly unable to think clearly as his hand kept moving up and down my body, then stopped to cradle my face while he kissed me only to move down my chest again, over my hip and around to cup my ass. I think it was when I pushed my hips forward into him that he finally chose a direction and his hand slipped under my shirt. I hissed, gasping at the heat of his palm, the rough pads of his fingertips as they brushed over soft, sensitive skin and stoked the fire burning inside me. 

There was no other thought than the ultimate pleasure of having him touch me like that. I had never cared for anyone the way I cared for him, had never felt anything so strong as the bond that was forming between us. He didn't hesitate to take things to a deeper level when I responded favorably to his roaming explorations. I had never wanted anything more than to feel his hands on me, to know the pleasure his touch could bring and was in no way disappointed when he took us to another plane of reality by removing the barrier of clothes between us and bringing our bodies together. There was a strange energy that passed between us where our bodies touched and I thought I might hyperventilate when he began to stroke us together; his kisses became erratic as the thick blanket of passion drowned us in an incredible heat. Everything was good, sublime and climbing steadily skyward until his hand slipped between my legs and I felt his fingertips brush over my ass. 

"Ah!" I gasped, arching back when my body was slammed with an incredible, tingling wave of heat. 

"Sorry," he breathed, pulling away. 

"No!" I barked. "Please." I couldn't even speak clearly. 

"Duo?" 

"Please," was all I could manage, but the spreading of my legs appeared to convey my meaning and he growled deeply while his hand returned and drove me completely out of my mind. 

I was utterly lost as my body forced my mouth to beg for things I didn't hardly understand, but I knew I wanted more from him. I wanted to feel him inside me. I wanted to see his eyes full of desire and wanting me. I needed it to come full circle and didn't stop until the sanity had bled from his eyes and been replaced by an incurable hunger that begged him to slip between my legs and make me a part of him forever. 

It hurt, but I didn't care. It felt so damn good to have him there, to feel his heartbeat while he seated himself deep within the walls of my most intimate offering, it just didn't matter. His arms pushed my legs up raising my hips and he kissed me as he began to move. I learned what true perfection felt like that night; how beautiful two human beings are when they melt into one and the ultimate purpose of my life. Hiiro had shown it to me just as my heart had always longed for him to do. 

The euphoria didn't end with the climax of our joining; it merely softened and spread out like a warm blanket over our sated body’s. I held him cradled gently to my chest, his body still damp but silent, save for his slightly elevated breathing. 

"I love you," he said at length and it made me laugh while I ran my fingers through his hair. "Guess I should have told you that first," he chuckled, lifting his head to look at me. 

"I figure it out on my own," I smiled and he sighed and buried his head in my chest again. 

That's when it all started to settle in and I thought for the first time about the consequences of our actions. How was Relena going to cope? There had been a time I was certain they would end up together, then on this trip it seemed she had taken an interest in me. Either way, she was in for a let down after what happened and I didn't fancy having to break it to her.

"Duo?" he asked, having sensed my changing mood. 

"We have to tell her," I replied, kissing his head gently. He sighed, then nodded and I felt his arms tighten before I added, "But let’s wait until after we reach LA."

"Why?" he asked, rising up to look at me quizzically. 

I smiled and kissed him rolling over so he could spoon against my back while I explained, "Let her enjoy the rest of her vacation."

I dreamed some pretty weird shit that night, but none of it was as bazaar as waking up with Hiiro's mouth nibbling my ear. For a second I thought the world had gone awry, but then it all started to come back and made a beeline for southern regions. I still couldn't believe it, not even while he was working me into a lather and stealing my breath away. He wanted me, he actually wanted _me_ and fairly badly from what I could tell. His touches started out tentative at first, but with the evidence of my surrender, became bold and hungry and before I quite knew what was happening we lay dripping with sweat while he milked the last of the energy from our bodies and I wondered if the rest of the world would just forget about us if we just stayed there forever. 

"Let’s take a vacation."

"We're on vacation," I giggled, tightening my hold while he pressed himself more firmly against me. 

"Just the two of us," he chuckled and I sighed happily when he began laying little kisses along my neck. 

"You just want to hole up somewhere and fornicate like bunnies."

"That, too," he grinned. 

I hugged him for no other reason than I was just...happy.

"Duo?" he asked after a time. "Are you sure?"

"You honestly think I'd be here if I wasn't?" I snorted. 

"But...Relena..."

"I still can't believe you chose me over her," I sighed, pulling him tighter. 

"She's known for a long time there could never be anything between us," he explained. 

She knew he was gay? Did that explain her transference of affection onto me? I was his best friend, if she fell in love with me it would keep her close to him? Or something along those lines...it was very confusing. He must have been thinking along the same lines because his next comment was, "But she seems to have grown very fond of you."

I wasn't about to take the rap on my own. "She's important to you, too," I countered, because I sure couldn't deny I liked the girl. It must have been the wrong thing to say because he squeezed me tight and asked again.

"Come away with me."

"Let’s get through this trip first, okay?" I chuckled. 

He nodded and kissed me, but I froze solid when I heard the camper door open. Some small amount of relief seeped into me when I identified Wufei’s barefoot steps, but it suddenly became imperative that we separate. 

"Duo?" he chuckled, rolling off when I pushed him. 

"We should get up," I told him, peering nervously out of the tent while I gathered my clothes. 

"Why?" He was laying there buck naked, smelling like sex and smiling at me. "Afraid of getting caught?"

"It's none of their business," I grumbled, tossing him his pants. 

His smile faltered, but I wasn't in the mood to argue with him. Everything was moving just a little too fast for me already, the last thing I needed was for Relena to find out about us before we had a chance to explain. I left him to dress on his own and went to help Wufei unhook. My mind kept wavering between the danger of proceeding with my plan to Relena because of the threats and to myself when Hiiro realized what I'd done, and what had happened between my partner and me. Sex, I decided, was seriously underrated. I had to wipe the stupid grin from my face more than once when memories of him danced in my mind. There wasn't much chance of ever getting tired of that part and since he was already my best friend I felt that we had a pretty bright future ahead of us. If we could get through the night, that is. 

I drove because I needed to make sure we arrived on schedule and the success of actually completing the mission depended on being able to get close enough to the city to make it unreasonable to go back and use the bypass. Hiiro took the passenger seat later in the afternoon and kept grinning at me until I felt like my face would catch fire. If anyone was watching us it was a sure bet they had figured out what was going on, but I finally glared him into relenting a little and he turned his attention to the road. That was my first mistake. 

"Duo?"

"Hm?"

"Isn't this our exit?"

"Hiiro, could you help me with this?" Bella asked and I could have kissed her, but it didn't work. 

"You'd better get over," he told me putting her off. 

"Ummmm..."

"Ah!" Relena suddenly barked jumping from her seat and dripping her spilled tea all over the floor. 

"What happened?" he asked, heading back to help because Quatre and Trowa had closed themselves up in the back and Wufei wasn't doing so well on his own. 

"Be still!" our Chinese partner growled, almost getting his hand trampled on. 

"It's cold!"

"Here, Miss Relena."

"Don't step in it!"

"The ice went down my dress!"

"Oh, for Pete's sake."

I couldn't help laughing at the lot of them, but I felt guilty because Relena's sacrifice had done its job and we missed the exit. Hiiro didn't realize it until things settled and the mess was cleaned up. Quatre and Trowa had been banished from the back so Relena could clean up and took up most of the couch while Wufei curled up in the chair again. 

"What exit was that?" Hiiro asked, resuming his seat beside me. 

"Not sure," I evaded. 

"This doesn't look right," he commented, getting the map out. "Did you miss the exit?"

"No," I sighed. "We're right on track." My track, but I had hoped not to get into it quite yet. 

"Duo," he grumbled. "You're taking us straight into the middle of Las Vegas."

"Las Vegas?!" Wufei gasped getting up to peer out the front window at the sparkling skyline. 

It was well after ten o'clock and the city was lit like a super nova star. 

"Turn around."

"Sorry," I told my new lover. "I sort of promised Relena..."

"You meant to do this?!" he snapped, suddenly glaring at me. 

"I'll take responsibility for it," I retorted. 

"How is that going to help if she's dead!?" 

This was not going to be pretty. 

"Nothing is going to happen," I assured him rather forcefully for all the good it did. 

"You're damn straight!" he growled, standing up while he ordered, "Turn around!"

"Hiiro..." 

"This is not negotiable," he told her, but our princess has never been easily intimidated. 

"I talked him into it," she countered. 

"That is irrelevant," he snapped and I felt something very scary settle over me when his eyes went cold. "It was an irresponsible decision!" Then he rounded on me. "You didn't even consult the team!"

"Because I knew you'd split a seam!"

"Because it's an idiotic idea!"

That stung.

"I didn't think it was stupid," Quatre snipped and Hiiro suddenly snapped. 

"You two knew about this?"

"Hiiro..." Relena stepped up, but Bella interceded with a touch to her arm and a quiet warning. 

"Miss Relena..."

"The next exit will take us back to the bypass," Wufei supplied.

"Take it," Hiiro ordered and I sighed...heavily. 

"Hiiro!"

"What?!"

"We are going to Las Vegas!" Relena stated boldly, matching him glare for glare and I wondered how much trouble we were going to be in when we arrived with her hog tied in the trunk. 

"There is no way to properly protect you..."

"I do not need your protection!" she snapped. 

"Relena?" Bella breathed, stepping back cautiously. 

Her sudden retreat rang a bell in my head that I had no doubt had echoed in everyone else’s. 

"What have you done?" Hiiro demanded on a thin, dangerous thread. 

"What you could not achieve," she retorted. "Made sure the lot of you got some time off!"

"There never was any threat on your life," Quatre surmised. 

"No," she confirmed. "Une and I just couldn't think of any other way to get you guys to take a vacation."

"Son of a bitch." I couldn't help it. The laugher just started around my toes and bubbled up out of me until the lot of us were cackling like a house full of hens. Well, everyone but Hiiro. "Come on," I chuckled, trying to coax him along. "You have to admit that's pretty funny."

"And it has been a lot of fun driving cross-country with our friends," Quatre smiled, leaning into Trowa's arms. 

"Well done," Wufei snickered, dropping back into his chair. 

Hiiro stood in our midst looking like he'd swallowed something vile for a minute before Relena turned her most charming smile on him. 

"I'm sorry," she soothed and I saw some of the tension drain away. "But you've refused for so long..."

"Hiiro?" I inquired when he pushed past her. 

He looked so sad for a second when he looked back at me I almost turned us around, but then he offered a wan little smile and said, "I need to cancel the warrant for Bella's arrest."

"What?!" she gasped. 

"How did you find out she sent the letters?" Relena gaped. 

"Une said the software was untraceable!" Bella insisted, looking horrified. 

"You'd think she'd learn," I laughed, but the rock in my stomach was making it hard. 

Hiiro still wasn't right and it bugged me, but everyone was so hyped about being in Vegas I had to put it aside for the moment. I had plans and I was going to need their help to pull them off. The first of which required a short emergency stop along the highway. 

"Why are we stopping?" Quatre asked. 

Hiiro was still sulking, but had accepted that the trip was happening and sat at the table out of the way while Relena and Bella went in the back to get ready. Wufei looked mildly interested though not enough to get up and Quatre was bouncing down the stairs with Trowa in tow so they'd have a front row seat for the first show of the night. I was just about to initiate it when I heard Hiiro scream and he came tumbling out the door backward.

"What in the…?"

"Hiiro!?" Relena shrieked, dashing out after him and I just about swallowed my tongue. 

"What in the hell did you do to her!?" he yelled, looking fit to be tied. 

"I didn't do that!" No way in hell!

She'd cut the damn legs out of the outfit we'd bought and I had no idea where the go go boots came from. With the black hair and that thick, passion purple lipstick she looked like she should be sporting a five hundred dollar price tag. 

"Oh, you both need to lighten up," she pished, flipping her hair saucily. 

Bella crept down the stairs behind her looking fine in the leather mini and vest she'd picked out, her hair all teased up to look wild and free and the highly amused Wufei right on her high heels. 

"You can't go out in public looking like that!" Hiiro stated in no uncertain terms. 

"This is the only chance I will ever have to do something like this and I fully intend to enjoy it," she sniffed. 

"Hiiro, come on," I chuckled. "It's really not that bad."

"Not bad!?" he gaped. 

"Well...not considering who she's masquerading as," I grinned pulling my remote out of my pocket. By a happy twist of fate she just happened to be standing in front of the camper with both hands on her hips and all attitude from head to toe when I hit the button and lit up the scene with ten thousand blinking lights, a great number of which spelled out in flaming red letters along the sides of the camper "The Pacificator."

"Ohmygod!" Quatre squeaked, slapping a hand over his mouth while Trowa stared silently and Wufei cracked up. Bella was looking very nervous, but Relena beamed at me as if I'd just promised to have her puppies and Hiiro just looked lost. 

"My Lady," I smiled, offering my arm to Relena who took it in a most regal manor before I led her back on board. 

Hiiro had gone silent, so I let him sulk. There was time to deal with him later because at the moment I had a wish to grant, so I hit the horn I had installed that played Moulin Rouge and took us straight down the strip. We were welcomed by locals and visitors alike as if our little princess were a famous showgirl no one wanted to be embarrassed about not having heard of and I hate to admit it, but those boots got us in more than one club all on their own. I wore my new jacket and some dark shades I'd picked up at the last gas station so nobody questioned my role as her bodyguard. That let me stay close enough to her that Hiiro didn't stress too much over her safety, but he never did get into the spirit of things. It was four in the morning and we were on our fifth club, Trowa's thirteenth attempt to convince Quatre to stay a few days, Relena's sixth Long Island Iced Tea and Wufei's fifth fight when I saw him heading for the door. 

"Hiiro!" I called rushing to intercept. "Hey, man, what's up?" I grinned, feeling the raw energy of the moment pumping through me. 

"I'm going home," he told me plainly and tried to step around. 

"Home?!" I barked, intercepting again. "You mean home, home?" What the hell?

"Yes."

"Why?" I laughed, holding his arms while he pushed fruitlessly against me. 

I was wholly unprepared for him to ask, "You made this date with Relena before last night, didn't you?"

Whoa. "Waaaait just a second," I chuckled, refusing to let him by. "You think I'm trying to play both sides of the fence?" His eyes darted to where Relena was currently draped all over some poor guy on the dance floor who was about to become Wufei's six victim of the night and I suddenly realized what my reluctance to reveal our new relationship coupled with the events of the day might look like. "I told you," I smiled forcing him to look me dead in the eye. "I do not love her that way. I thought last night was proof positive I'm in love with you."

His eyes brightened, but he still wore that cute little sulk. 

"Hiiro," I groaned, gripping his shirt to make sure he couldn't get away. "Tonight was just a golden opportunity to make one of her wishes come true."

"Since when do you grant wishes?" he grumbled. 

"I do what I can," I grinned. 

"Then grant mine," he demanded and my head spun when I was swept off my feet, dipped low and thoroughly kissed. 

The entire club resounded with catcalls and whistles and I suddenly heard Relena shout out, "GO HIIROOOOOO!" and wondered if spontaneous combustion was actually the proper response because I was doing my best to achieve it. It felt like forever before he set me back on my feet and I know I looked like I’d been flash fried, but he still refused to let me go, holding me firmly in his arms while he cupped my face and touched our foreheads together. 

"Thanks," he breathed while I settled enough to feel the trembling in him and smiled. 

"Anytime." 

We got sort of a late start the next morning. Quatre and Trowa disappeared at some point, but a quick call to Quatre's cell provided a `do not disturb` message that confirmed we might not see them again until we got home. If then. Relena and Bella were still passed out in the back when Hiiro pulled us, expertly I might add, onto the highway and aimed us at the embassy in LA. I sat beside him and he insisted on holding my hand, which left me feeling a little drunk in spite of my `designated body guard` role the night before. Wufei had broken a finger on some guys jaw and had his feet in a bowl of salts soaking away the bruises while he slept, so the last leg of the trip was spent in comfortable quiet. 

Relena was delivered right on time and gave her first speech while wearing cheap sunglasses and hugging a bottle of seltzer water that was disguised as a soda. She confessed during the last couple of miles that her interest in me was due to Hiiro's obvious affection for me. I got a kick out of watching him squirm while she explained that all the questions were to find out what it was I apparently didn't see in the handsome, heroic perfect soldier because it had been plain to see that he was head over heels in love with me from the start. It made me wonder where I'd been, but I guess some things just have to take their natural course. She kept the speech short and the goodbyes even shorter, freeing Hiiro and I to drop off the camper while Wufei went to book us a flight home, but when the RV lot came up he just blew right by it. 

"Hiiro?"

"Hn?"

"You missed the turn."

"On ramps not for another five miles," he grinned. 

I let the smile spread slowly and laced my fingers in his. Wufei could fly home on his own. If Une was so worried about us taking some time off we'd certainly found a reason to oblige her. I kicked back with his hand in mine and a huge grin on my face while he pointed us east and started searching for a nice, dark place to park for a couple of days. 

owari :)

**Author's Note:**

> Write it, draw it, create it, sing it, SHARE IT. ~ Sunhawk 2019


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